Bewtween Friendship and Love
by SSJGoldTrunks
Summary: what do you do when your best friend is in trouble but is lying to you about the whole situation? Read to find out. I suck at summaries! R & R PLEEZEEE
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I'm only going to write this once. (Although it'll probably get written and posted again) I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the characters in this story. If I did I wouldn't be working at Sears. I would also be living in a mansion. The only thing I own in this story is the idea and Chad my made up character for Hermione. So please don't sue me cause I am a broke college student, with bills to pay.

Summary: Hermione is in a relationship that might truly be harmful to her. She won't tell Harry or Ron what is going on. She feels completely lost and has new feelings for one of her best friends. Harry is extremely worried about Hermione, and starts to realize his new feelings for her but is it too late, and is it enough? I suck at summaries. Sorry!

And on with the story!....

**Dear Journal,**

**I'm so excited! Tomorrow is the first day back at school, and I will finally get to see Harry and Ron. I've missed them so much. I have received a few letters from Ron this summer, but between him dating Luna and me dating Chad, we've both been really busy. Of course I haven't received any letters from Harry because he has to keep Hedwig locked up. So as you can see journal, I haven't told him about Chad yet. I don't know how I am going to tell him. I should have told him sooner, but since he can't reply to letters, I wanted to wait until I could see his reaction. I am sure Harry will understand, I mean he is my best friend. I mean I know that Ron doesn't really like Chad, but Harry is muggle also so maybe he will understand our relationship better than Ron does. Chad still isn't crazy about me going back to school, or going back to Harry and Ron as he puts it. I actually trusted Chad with all of our secrets and stories, except for a few of Harry's personal things. I mean we have grown up together and I do believe that I am starting to love him. I'm not sure though, because I have never been in love, but I think that is what it is. The only bad thing is that he has gotten rather moody and hostile lately, Especially when the subject comes to anything dealing with my "magical life". The other night he actually hurt me. We had fallen asleep on the couch and I was dreaming. The dream turned into a nightmare involving Harry, and I must have muttered Harry's name and next thing I know Chad was shaking me really hard and yelling at me. He asked me if I was having fantasies about Harry and if they were any good. Then next thing I know, he is calling me a slut and then he runs out of the house slamming the door. This ended up making me break down and cry. Now I have a big purple bruise on my arm and I can't heal it because I'm not allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts. At least Chad called and apologized. Well, I guess I better get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. I wonder what Harry is doing right now.**

**Love always,**

** Hermione**

Hermione closed her journal and let a yawn escape. She picked up a small picture frame from off the desktop. It was her favorite picture of the famous trio. In the picture she was standing between Harry and Ron. The picture was of course magical so it would repeat the same movement every few seconds. When the picture moved it would show Harry and Ron bending down and each kissing one of Hermione's cheeks at the same time, as soon as they stopped kissing her cheek they would all break into a fit of giggles. She couldn't help but smile. She was grateful for their friendship, because she didn't know what she would without the two of them.

As she continued t smile at the picture she heard someone knock on her bedroom door. At this time of night she figured it was just her mom bringing the last of her clothes up for some final packing. Boy had she been wrong. "Come in," Hermione said without looking back. Chad walked quietly through the bedroom door and walked up behind her. H was just about to wrap his arms around her in a big hug until he saw what she had been looking at.

"What the hell is the matter with you! You haven't even left yet and you have already forgotten about me and you are drooling all over this stupid little picture of you and your "friends"" Chad was now very pissed off and was yelling at her like a mad man. His face had even started turning red.

Hermione spun around so quickly and was so surprised to see Chad that she dropped the picture frame she had been holding. The glass frame shattered into many pieces when it hit the ground. As soon as it hit the ground the moving spell on it broke and caused it to freeze on the scene of the two boys kissing Hermione's cheeks.

"Chad what are you doing here? I thought we were going to say our good-byes tomorrow before I left for the train station," she said as she bent over to pick up what was left of the broken frame and the picture. Chad grabbed her wrist and spun her around to jerk the picture out of her other hand.

"What are you doing? Give me that back," Hermione froze as she saw Chad looking at the picture and turning an even darker shade of red.

"So they're just friends, huh? Well, a picture is worth a thousand words, and well in this picture you sure are blushing pretty hard from these two "friends" kisses. So which one do you really fancy Hermione, is it Harry or Ron?" Chad continued with a hiss in his voice that scared her, "Or do you just screw around with the both of them?"

"Come on Chad, get a grip, I told you that Ron is now dating Luna. They've been dating since the summer started," Hermione was fixing to continue until she was cut off by Chad's ranting.

"Oh, so that makes it easier for you to admit your feelings to Harry. He is the one you really fancy isn't he? I've seen how you act when you talk about him. With Ron dating Luna you two don't have to feel so guilty for your feelings, and having to worry about hurting poor little Ron's feelings."

"Chad it isn't like that, you know that isn't true we are only friends. You know how much I care about you and if I didn't care about you I wouldn't be dating you. Please don't get carried away," Hermione said as she moved toward Chad to hug and comfort him. She just wanted him to calm him down.

Before she knew what was happening Chad's had had hit her face with a strong and forceful blow. It had clearly left its mark as her skin had already started turning red and a light shade of purple could be seen in her cheek. It was obvious there would definitely be a bruise there tomorrow. Tears had started slowly falling down her stinging cheek.

"Hermione I am so sorry, I didn't mean to I swear I didn't. I just... I just lost my temper. You know I would never hurt you on purpose, never." Chad tried to wipe the tears off her cheek and tried to pull her into a hug, but this time it was her turn to yell. She had held it all in and this time he had crossed the line.

"Get out, get out now! Leave me alone, I don't want to see you. Just get away from me. Go home."

She just kept screaming until he finally gave up on trying to comfort her. It was clear he couldn't take back what he had done. Hermione just kept letting the tears fall down her cheeks. She didn't even try to wipe them away. She picked up the picture and lay down on her bed holding the picture close to her chest squeezing it tight. She wished that she were with Harry and Ron right now. Especially Harry, he always knew how to make her feel better. "Harry I really wish you were here right now. I really need you," she said as she took one last look at the picture and cried herself to sleep.

Author's Note: Well, what do you think. Should I keep going or just stop here? Let me know something. I really hope you liked it, but I will accept both good and bad reviews! Let me know what you really think. If I get enough reviews I will go ahead and post the 2nd chapter!


	2. Nightmares or Visions

Disclaimer: It's in the first chapter, and I am too lazy to retype it! So, don't sue me! Thanks!

Author's note: Well, for the most part I think a couple of people liked the first chapter so I decided to go ahead and put up the 2nd one. I hope you guys enjoy it! Please keep up the reviews, they help me come up with new ideas for the story. BTW, for all of those that hate Chad and think he is an ass, well I totally agree. But I know one thing; girls put up with some crazy stuff when they think they "love" someone. Oh and sorry about the few spelling errors, I was in a hurry. I apologize and I will try to look closer at my errors next time.

Enough of that, here's chapter 2!

Harry sat up with a jolt in his bed. For once it was a nightmare that wasn't causing his scar to throb with pain, this time it felt like something much worse. It was his heart that was in pain. He took a few deep breathes to calm is pounding heart and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He couldn't believe how much pain the dream had caused him, but then again witnessing your best friend being beaten would cause anyone to react the same way.

As he lay back down he pulled his covers up around him and closed his eyes. The dream started to replay over in his mind. He still couldn't figure out what had caused him to have the dream. As scary as the thought was, he started to ponder whether it was just a nightmare, or possibly a vision. In his dream he had seen Hermione arguing with a guy he had never seen before. He knew he had never seen the guy at Hogwarts, so he knew that he wasn't a fellow student. He had to admit that he was thankful it wasn't Viktor Krum. Harry knew he would kill him if he ever saw him strike Hermione. But Harry knew that Hermione had finally dropped Krum. He thanked Merlin that she had "finally seen the light."

He let out a sigh as he kept trying to depict the dreams meaning. He didn't quite understand why he couldn't hear anything. All he could do was see the actions, but he didn't have to hear anything to tell that they were arguing. He could tell that the argument had started over a picture, but he couldn't see what the picture was of. The part of the dream that kept playing over and over in his mind was when he saw the stranger slap Hermione. He could tell that the hit had been very hard, because it had caused her head to jerk to the side. He could even see a red handprint. He wanted to reach out and hug Hermione, do anything to comfort her. Hell he'd really love to beat the shit out of the bastard that hit her. He wanted this guy to feel the pain that he had inflicted on his best friend. But he couldn't move he could only stand there and watch it. That was when he jerked awake screaming, because for the first time in his life, there was absolutely nothing he could do to help her.

Harry had been thinking a lot about Hermione lately, but not in that romantic way. I guess you could say he was a little frustrated with her. He had received a few letters from Ron over the summer. Ron didn't mind not getting letters back; he just wanted to keep Harry up to date on what was going on with his family, and all of their friends. One letter that had confused Harry was the letter where Ron had told him about a boy named Chad. Supposedly Chad was a guy that Hermione had started dating when she returned home for the summer. Harry wished that it would have been Hermione that had told him, but he would wait to see what she had to say before he jumped to conclusions. He was a little depressed at the fact that she hadn't written him all summer. Not a single letter. Ron had said that she was probably busy memorizing a new book and going on dates.

It was a little depressing, he didn't want to be such a party pooper, he was happy for Ron and Luna, and even Hermione, and whoever this Chad guy was, but it did make him realize how lonely he truly was. Of course he had his friends, but was that enough? He had finally realized over the summer that he had grown out of his childhood crush on Cho, realizing that she wasn't quite the goddess that he had thought she was.

He looked at his alarm clock to find that it was nearly 1:30 in the morning. He rolled over thinking about what the new school year would bring. What adventures the trio would have, and if Ron would bring any new goodies that Fred and George had invented to test out on first years, and especially the Slytherins. At least this brought a smile to his face. It felt like the first real smile that he had smiled all summer. But then again he couldn't help but smile when he thought of his friends and going home, home to Hogwarts. With his final thoughts he fell back into a peaceful sleep.

Hermione sat out on her porch swing taking in a few last deep breaths and looking out into the yard. Crookshanks was playing with a toy mouse and she couldn't help but laugh at how silly the cat could be sometimes.

"Hello beautiful," Chad said sweetly with his hands behind his back.

"What do you want? I thought I told you that I didn't want to see you," she said with hate in her voice. She started to stand up, but was pushed back down by Chad.

"I know I am sorry but I didn't want you to leave without me apologizing and saying goodbye to you. I really am sorry Hermione. I didn't mean to loose my temper. I just don't want those two guys to steal take you away from me. I really do care about you. I honestly think I love you. And well, I just don't want to loose you. Here these won't make up for what I did but it was still worth a try," Chad said as he pulled out a dozen white roses from behind his back.

"Oh Chad, they are beautiful. I know you are worried but you shouldn't be. And well to be honest with you, I love you too." She said smiling as she kissed him.

"I'm really sorry about your cheek. I didn't realize I hit you that hard. It must hurt," he said as he looked at the small purple spot on her cheek.

"Well, it hurts a little, but I tried to cover it up with make-up as best I could. As soon as I get back to Hogwarts I will heal it with magic and you will never know it was there."

They both smiled at each other and they were about to kiss again, until they heard Hermione's mom's voice calling out from in the front yard.

"Hermione, it's time to go. Your father is already out in the car."

"I guess I better get going then," she said as she gave him a quick hug.

"Hermione wait. Do you think I could ride along with you and your parents, I mean I won't get to see you again until Christmas. So I wanted to spend as much time with you as I can," he said with sad puppy dog eyes.

She couldn't help but give into him, yet again. "I guess it wouldn't hurt and you can even meet Ron and Harry. Then you won't worry so much while I'm gone," she said smiling.

The couple walked hand in hand to the car and got in. The ride to the train station seemed like the longest ride Hermione could remember. She started getting butterflies in her stomach. All she could think about was what Harry would think. She knew Ron wouldn't be to Happy about her bringing Chad along, but she knew he would get over it after a few sweets on the train. She kept looking out the window and occasionally squeezed Chad's hand back when she felt his and tighten around hers.

As usual his family dropped off Harry and he had to carry all of his stuff into the station and to the platform by himself. At least he was getting away from that terrible house and family. Of course they gave him the usual last beating to keep him from forgetting what was waiting on him when he got home at the end of the school year. But he took the beating. It was worth it knowing he was going home. To his home, not the muggle world, but the magical world.

"Harry, over here mate!" He heard Ron yell. He saw him standing with his entire family talking, and holding hands with Luna. It was obvious the entire group had been happy about Ron and Luna getting together. Harry ran over to the group and said his hellos and was greeted by hug after hug.

"So, why are we still standing around?" Ron asked.

"I want to wait on Hermione so we can all get on the train together. Is that ok? Or should we just go ahead and get a cubby," Harry asked looking at Ron, Luna, and Ginny.

"Nah mate, we have time. Did she ever write you about that jerk, I mean Chad," Ron made a face as he said his name, and in return he received an elbow in the ribs from Luna.

"Be nice Ron, Hermione really likes this guy from what she has said in her letters," Luna said as she straightened her hair over her shoulders.

Luna noticed how Harry's face seemed to drop at the mention of Chad's name, but shrugged it off when he started to speak, "No she never wrote. I'm going to act like I still don't know and see if she says anything first."

At that moment Ginny piped in, "Look here comes Hermione. Who is that cute guy that is with her? Man maybe next summer I should spend a week at her house."

"Hello everyone," Hermione said, "Everyone I want you to meet Chad, my boyfriend."

Harry noticed for the first time that they were holding hands. Chad went to shake hands with everyone and when it came time to shake hands with Harry and Ron there was a sense of tension in the air.

Author's Note: muahahahahah, yet another cliffhanger! Sorry you guys but I gotta stop there. It's almost 2 a.m. and I gotta get some sleep. So you know what to do. Please read and review. Let me know what you think and I will try to get the next chapter up. The more reviews, the quicker the next chapter will be up! Thanks! And now it's time for me to get some sleep!


	3. Bruises and Dreams

Disclaimer: I don't own it, so don't sue me.

Author's Note: Well, wow you guys. It's been forever since I updated. A lot has happened between my boyfriend and me this past week and a half and I just didn't have it in me to do anything. But I'm back! YEAH! Anyway, I have already finished all the chapters up until chapter 5. The story will eventually be HP/HG, but be patient. The rating is also R due to some language, some abusive scenes, possibly even minor cutting later on and also there will be some sexual content later on. But again you must be patient the best is yet to come! BTW thanks for the reviews, I enjoy hearing everyone's opinions! BTW one last comment is I will not put the next chapter up until I get at least 10 reviews for chapter 3 alone. So if you want to know what happens get other readers to read! The quicker you review the quicker you get the next chapter!

And here we go kiddies!

As the group exchanged handshakes Harry couldn't fight the feeling that he had seen this guy somewhere before. He just couldn't put his finger on it. He knew that this was the first time he had met Chad but he just couldn't shake the feeling. Harry could already feel some weird vibes coming from him. There just wasn't something right about him. His thoughts were quickly interupted by Molly, "Well children, it's time that we all get going. We don't want you to miss the trian. I'm sure you guys definitely don't want to miss it either."

Hermione turned to Chad to say her final goodbyes to him. She couldn't believe that she wouldn't see him again until christmas. Part of her didn't want to leave him behind, she knew she would really miss him during the time until christmas, but they had agreed to continue to see each other and write as often as possible. "Well I guess this is it,"she said hugging him tightly,"I'll see you in December."

"That seems so far away, but I am sure that we will manage. Just write me as soon as you get there. Please, please be careful this year. Don't forget about me either," Chad said smiling at her. It seemed as if the couple had totally forgotten that everyone else was there as they continued their good-byes.

"Hey mate did you happen to catch that shiner on Hermione's cheek?" Ron asked Harry with a curious glance, "Luna said she could tell that Hermione was trying to hide it with some base and the rest of her make-up but you can still see it."

That's when it hit Harry. He knew exactly where he had seen Chad. He was the bastard that had been in his dream the night before. He was the asshole that had the nerve to strike Hermione, and think that he could get away with it. Harry knew he had to calm down though, he was jumping to conclusions. It may have all just been a bad dream, it wasn't 100 true that it had been a vision, but the bruise on Hermione's cheek had made his suspicions grow. His temper flared even more as he watched the two share a tender kiss.

"Hey Luna, what's Harry's problem? He looks really pissed off," Ginny whispered.

"I don't know. You don't think that he fancies Hermione do you? I mean look how mad he looks. If looks could kill, Chad would be six feet under," Luna whispered back.

Harry's fists were balled tight at his sides as he thought about the dream and he would love nothing more than to beat the shit out of that bastard of a boyfriend that Hermione was dating. His thoughts were quickly interrupted by Hermione's gentle and cheerful voice, "Well, see you at Christmas Chad. Goodbye mom and dad. Come on Harry let's go everyone has already gone through the barrier and they are getting on the train. By the way are you ok, you are turning red."

Harry broke out of his daze and looked around, she was right everyone was gone, it was just he and Hermione left. How long had he been standing there? He took two deep breathes and exhaled to try to calm his temper back down and drain the red color from his face. He watched as Hermione waved goodbye to her family and friends one last time. Harry watched her as she went through the barrier and looked back to the Weasleys and waved goodbye. He took a last look at Chad, "I'm going to find out the truth about and what you are really like, if it's the last thing I do," Harry muttered to himself before he crossed through the barrier and stepped onto the train to find his friends.

(On the train)

Things got a little bit better on the train. The gang talked for a while about how their summers had been. Ron had pulled Harry and Neville aside and showed them some of Fred and George's newest creations, while the girls were huddled over by the window giggling. Harry and Ron guessed that they were talking about guys, especially them. Neville just rolled his eyes, as the girls let out another loud round of giggles.

The girls must have gotten tired of their "hen house" session because Luna and Ginny finally got up and took seats by their guys. (AN: Luna and Ron are dating and Ginny and Neville like each other but aren't dating yet. Ok now that that is out back to the story) Luna laid her head on Ron's shoulder and closed her eyes. Ginny smiled at her brother and her friend and did the same to Neville. The boys placed their arms protectively around the girls and smiled at each other before closing their eyes.

Hermione watched as the other girls sat beside their special someone's and felt a tug at her heart. She realized that she was already starting to miss Chad. She looked around the room and noticed the only seat was beside Harry. She suddenly felt a little uncomfortable and watched Harry as he continued looking out the window. She slowly stretched and sat down beside Harry. Harry finally stretched his arms over his head and tilted his neck to pop it. He leaned back into the seat.

His quiet voice finally broke the awkward silence, "so you have a boyfriend," he asked, not even looking at her to see her reaction to his question. He didn't want to look at her; he couldn't stand to see the bruise on her cheek. He knew it would just bring back his temper.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said quietly looking at him trying to see his reaction. She still couldn't see it because he refused to look away from the window. She decided to continue. "I've known him since I was little. We grew up together in the same neighborhood. He asked me out as soon as I got home from Hogwarts this summer. He said he had to ask me out or he would regret it when someone else realized how pretty I was and beat him to it. I know I should have told you sooner Harry, but I didn't want to tell you in a letter. I really care about him, a lot. I even told him about all of our adventures and all about Hogwarts. He knows everything about me and who I really am. I trust him with the truth. I didn't tell him anything personal about you, though. We have our ups and downs," boy that's an understatement Hermione thought to herself, "I hope you understand and that you aren't mad," she finally finished.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Harry finally took his eyes away from the window and turned to look at her. "I think I understand," he said, "I was just a little hurt that I didn't receive a single letter from you. I thought that you might have forgotten about me."

Something inside of her gave away. She just couldn't believe what she had heard come out of Harry's mouth. He was her best friend, how could she forget about him? "Oh Harry, don't say that, don't even think that. I could never forget you; you're my best friend. She threw her arms around harry and wrapped him in a tight hug. At first this caught Harry by surprise. Of course they had hugged many times, but not in this manner. He slowly relaxed into the hug, resting his chin on the top of her head. "Hermione can I ask you something?"

"Sure what is it," she asked finally pulling away from Harry and sitting up in the seat. She looked at him as he struggled with the words that he wanted to say.

"What happened to your cheek?" Hermione froze she thought that she had covered the bruise up completely with her make up. Quickly she thought of something to say.

"Oh this?" She said pointing at the small bruise on her cheek. "You know me, I'm pretty clumsy sometimes, and well... well one night I got up in the middle of the night and I had forgotten that I had shut my door half way before I went to bed and I ran into it. I was still halfway asleep. I ran slap into it." She finished her story and gave Harry her most convincing smile.

"Oh," was all that he could say. He knew she was lying to him, he just couldn't figure out why she was doing it. Was this Chad guy really worth lying to her friends? She had never lied to him before, or any of her friends for that matter. "Well, you know if you ever have anything you need to talk about, I'm here for you. I will always be here for you. If you are ever in any trouble I will be there to help you. I just don't want anything to happen to you."

The two of them sat there staring at each other. Deep chocolate eyes met solid emerald eyes. Just then Ron let out a loud snore and the two of them started laughing. It was enough to clear the room of all the previous tension. "Thank you Harry," Hermione said leaning her head on his shoulder and letting out a small yawn. She closed her eyes. "Anytime," he said as he leaned his head onto hers and they fell asleep.

(In Harry's dream)

Harry, Hermione, Ron and Luna were all sitting out by the lake under a large tree. It was a beautiful bright sunny day and it seemed like none of them had a care in the world. Suddenly Ron stood up and whispered something into Luna's ear. She quickly followed him and whispered something into Hermione's ear. As Harry was busy watching the girls Ron smacked him on the shoulder yelling out "Tag mate, you're it!" Ron and the two girls took off running. Everyone was laughing and having a blast. Harry noticed that Hermione couldn't quite run as fast as Ron and Luna so he went after her. He was right behind her and was fixing to tag her when he tripped over something and landed flat on his face with a loud thud. He rolled over onto his back.

Boy was he embarrassed. Next thing he knew, Hermione was standing over him in a fit of giggles. "Oh shove off, why don't you quit laughing and help me up. What if I was really hurt." He said with puppy dog eyes. Hermione reached out a hand to help him up when Harry smirked at her. She started to pull away but it was too late. Next thing she knew, she was lying on the ground right beside Harry. Now it was his turn to laugh. This only made her madder. She reached out and pinched his side.

"Ouch," he yelped, "that hurt." She started laughing again. "Oh so you think you are funny do you?" he rolled over on top of her and started to tickle her. This continued until tears were rolling down her cheeks. All of the sudden Harry felt something odd. They both froze and stared into each other's eyes. Before he knew what he was doing he had bent his head down and captured Hermione's lips in a kiss. To his surprise she kissed back. He had never felt anything like this. Suddenly she parted her lips and her tongue caressed his.

(End of dream)

It took Harry a minute to realize where he was as he tried to calm his breathing down. He looked down at Hermione and realized he had only been dreaming. Part of him felt a little sad, but then he shook those thoughts from his head. This was his best friend he was thinking about. Of course she was gorgeous, but he shouldn't be thinking about her like that.

He looked down at Hermione and smiled. He hadn't realized how much she had changed. Her hair had grown to be down past her shoulders, and now lay in soft curls. It was no longer the bushy mess that it used to be. He noticed with a blush that she had also grown out in a few areas as well. She had very nice curves now. It had even looked like she had grown about an inch or so over the summer.

He felt Hermione shiver and noticed that the sweater she was wearing over her tank top was falling off her shoulder. He carefully moved to pull it back up over her shoulder, but then he noticed something that he hadn't seen before. He realized that it must be the reason that she was wearing the sweater on a summer day. He moved the sweater to get a closer look. There was a large purple bruise on the top of her arm right below her shoulder. It was on the opposite side then the one on her cheek so he knew she didn't "run into the door" to get this one.

Harry decided that he wouldn't ask her about this bruise but he would make sure that he talked to Ron about it as soon as they were alone. His thoughts were interrupted as A student walked by and told him to wake everyone up and get their uniforms on.

Everyone woke p and stretched and they all took turns changing into their uniforms. Before they knew it the train had stopped and they were all loading themselves into the horseless carriages. For some reason the ride seemed shorter then the previous year. Finally the carriages stopped in front of the school and the students piled out of them. They stepped up on the front steps and all stopped to take it in. "Welcome home Harry," Ron and Hermione said as they all walked up the steps and continued inside.

Author's Notes: Well that's it. Geez are my fingers tired! This chapter took forever to type. Oh well, I hope you all enjoyed it. Please review. I did this kinda quick so forgive any errors! Well, like I said please 10 reviews and I'll put the next chapter up. Time for me to get some sleep! See ya on the flip side! Toodles!


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